Hose mounting arrangement for liquid dispensing units



March 29, 1960 J. J. PACEY 2,930,514

HOSE MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT FOR LIQUID DISPENSING UNITS Filed Sept. 8,1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JUHN d. PAC! 7 BY p Wm! ATTORNEY HOSEMOUNTING ARRANGEMENT FOR LIQUID DISPENSING UNITS Filed Sept. 8, 1958 J.J. PACEY March 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l I H I N \& JOHN J. PAg

ATTORNEY United States hatent HOSE MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT FOR LIQUIDDISPENSING UNITS John J. Pacey, Springfield, Mass, assignor to Gilbert &Barker Manufacturing Company, West Springfield, Mass., a corporation ofMassachusetts Application September 8, 1958, Serial No. 759,772

Claims. (Cl. 222-530) This invention relates to liquid dispensingapparatus and more particularly to improvements in flexible hosehandling equipment for gasoline pumps and the like.

There are presently available gasoline dispensing pumps equipped withswing arms of various types for supporting the usual flexible dispensinghose in spaced overlying relationship to the top of a pump casing. Suchdevices in one fashion or another are rotatable to permit movement ofthe hose in various directions for greater ease in servicing vehiclesand for preventing the hose from becoming caught or wrapped around thecasing. Such swing arm assemblies primarily enable, in a simple fashion,the use of a longer than normal hose which may be more freely used overa wider area to service vehicles parked at locations with respect to thedispensing pump.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved swingarm unit of simplified overall construction resulting in an assembly ofrelativelylow manufacturing cost and readily serviceable in the field.

The invention is characterized by the provision of a rigid arm rotatablymounted on the housing of a dispensing pump to encase and support aflexible hose in overlying relation to the top of the casing and tocarry the hose for coupling directly to a rigid outlet pipe within saidcasing by means of a sealing-swivel having substantially the same axisof rotation as the tubular swing arm.

The above and other related objects'and advantages 'of this inventionwill be more readily apparent from a reading of the followingdescription of which the following drawings are a part.

Fig. 1 is a partial front elevation of a gasoline dispensing unitembodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the unit shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the unit shown in Fig. l and on anenlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line IVIV of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a section taken along the line VV of Fig. 3. The swing armassembly or the present invention is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 mounted onthe casing of a gasoline dispensing pump unit which may encaseconventional I gasoline pumping andmetering equipment. A swing arm 8 ismounted on the top and adjacent one side of the casing 4 for rotationabout a vertical axis. A flexible dispensing hose 6 is supported by thearm 8 in spaced overlying relationship to the top of the casing 4 forswingingmovement above the top of the casing. The normal position of thearm 8 at rest is shown in full line in Fig. 2 overlying the centerlineof the casing 4 with the dispensing nozzle 9 hung in conventionalfashion on either side of the casing 4. Fig. 2 also shows in dottedlines that the arm 8 may be swung to either side of its normal positionto extend the hose in a desired direction to insert the nozzle in thefill pipe of an automobile.

The casing 4 (Figs. 1 and 2) is compositely formed by an invertedU-shaped sheet metal frame 3 to which removable windowed cover panels 5are secured to comprise the front and'rear walls of thecasing 4. A plateice 10 (Fig. 3.) is secured at its opposite ends to the frame 3 andsupports light fixtures (not shown) for illuminating the dial of thedispensing unit. Plate 10 is provided with an aperture 12 for access toconnect the inner end of the flexible dispensing hose 6 to the upper endof a rigid outlet pipe 13 disposed within the casing 4. Hose 6 isprovided with a conventional coupling 14 which is threaded into theupper end of a sealing swivel 16 which in turn is threaded onto thepiping 13. The hose 6 extends upwardly from the swivel 16 through theinterior of arm 3 which in turn is mounted in an ,opening'ls disposed atone side of the top of the frame 3. Arm 8 is preferably an integraltubular memberhaving an upright journal portion, an elbow portion and aradially extend ing horizontal portion. The hose6 extends through thelength of the arm 8 and is supported thereby in spaced relationshipabove the frame 3. The'radial portion of the arm 8 terminatesapproximately adjacent the side of the casing 4 opposite the opening 18with the hose 6 extending therebeyond. A clamp 22 at the terminalportion of the arm 8 captures the hose 6 and prevents its inner end frombeing pulled outwardly of the arm 8 sothat' no undue stresses areimposed on the bend in the hose itself or on the coupling'lo when thenozzle 9 on the outer end circular area surroundingthe dispensing unit.

The rotatable mounting of arm 8 comprises support 24 secured to the topof the casing 4 by screws 21 passing through an integral flange 2Scurved to match the curve ture of frame 3 (Figs. 1-3). An'antifrictionsleeve hearing 26 (Fig. 3) is mounted in the support 24 and rotatablyreceives the journal portion of arm 8. Downward axial loading of thisrotatable mounting is carried by. a shoulder 28 formed at the upper endof the journal portion of arm 8 and bearing against the upper surface ofthebearing sleeve 26. The lower end of sleeve 26 is supported by aninturned flange 27 on the support 24;

" plates 35. The free ends of the cable 39 extendingoutwardly of arm 3are gripped by a cableadapter 36 which in turn receives one end ofextension spring 38. The other end of the spring 38 is received by adepending bracket 4!) which is secured to an inturned flange 39 on therear side of frame 3. When the arm 8 is in its normal or rest position,the spring 38 is preloaded to exert equal tensions on the two legs ofthe cable 3%, thelegs being the'portions of cable 30 between the clampplates as and the cable adapter 36 and with each leg of the same length.If the arm 8 is rotated or swung in either direction from its normalposition as shown in Fig- 2, a greater tension will be exerted by thespring 38 on one of the legs of the cable 30 and when the arm'isreleased it will be returned to its normal position by the action of thespring 38. fThe relatively large diameter of the lower endof arm 8 wherethe cable 39 is attached enables the use of a relatively weak spring 38to obtain the necessary torque for returning the arm 8 to its normalposition. I i

While the sealing swivel 16 is available as a commercial item, a briefdescription will be given of its constructon which comprises an upper orfemale member 42 (Fig. 3) telescopingly receiving a lower male member44. The telescopic relationship of the two members 42 ahd 44 ismaintained by means of a retaining ring 46 which extends outwardly ofthe lower portion 44 and engages a shoulder 45 within the upper portion42. The liquid seal of the swivel includes an O-ring 47 disposed in achamber intermediate the length of the telescoped portions of members 42and 44. The coupling16 provides the sole sealing means for this assemblyand allows rotational movement of the hose 6 with respect to the rigidoutlet pipe '13. It will be noted that the axis of rotation of thesealing swivel 16 is coincident with the ardent rotation of the armS-and thus as the arm 8 is rotated the hose .6 will. be rotated withrespect to the outlet'pipe 13. The swivel 16 is vertically spaced closeto'th'e elbow portion of the arm 8 so that as the arm is rotated througha given angle a minimum length of the hose 6 will be subjected to atorsional stress in rotatingthe upper swivel member 42. This featureminimizes stresses in the inner end of hose 6 and thereby prolongs itslife. v i i The rotatable mounting of the arm 8 or the frame 3independently of the rotatable mounting of the hose 6 on the outlet pipe13. gives several advantages. First, the relatively small size of theswivel 16 insures a good liquid seal proving only nominal resistance toswinging moveinent of the arm 8. Second, the relatively large diameterof the journalportion. of the arm 8 further facilitates this swingingmovement and eliminates any undue bear ing stresses. 'It will also benoted that the sealing swivel 16 is of relatively small diametercompared' -with the journal portion of the arm 8 .tofwhich the torqueforceof return spring 38 is applied so the force of this spring may berelatively small. Furthermore, since the hose 6 will alsorotate'generally coextensively with the arm}! there will be little or nochafing and wear on this flexible component. I

The upper end of a tubular liquid baflie 50 is secured within the lowerend of the arm 8 by means of an acorn headed. screw 52 whichis threadedthrough the arm 8 received in anaperture in the baffie 50. The baffle 50extends downwardly from the arm 8 through the aperture 12 and below theplate 10. The baffle 50 is' provided as a safety measure to insure thatin the event the hose ruptures above the swivel 16, escaping gasolinewill be deflected downwardly below the plate on which the light fixturesare mounted;

It is preferable that the arm 8 not be swung at full 360 in order thatthe arm will not be abused in use. To accomplish this end, screw 52 ispurposely chosen Having thus .described my invention, what I claim asnovel is:

l. A liquid dispensing device comprising a casing having a top opening,a swing arm rotatably mounted about a a generally vertical axis alignedwith said top opening and a support for pivotal movement of the arm,said swing arm comprising a hollow hub portion and a projecting portionterminating radially outwardly of the hub outlet pipe. 1

with a large acorn head which will engage the inner surface of thesupport flange 25 to limit the extent of rotation of the arm 8 throughan angle of approximately 330". It would, of course, be possible to useother stop means but the arrangement described is preferable in view ofits simplicity.

The clamp 22 (Figs. 3 and 5) at the terminal end of the arm 8 is securedto the arm by means of screws 56 and may be removed for the insertion ofthe hose coupling 14 through the arm 8. The bottom portion of the arm 8adjacent its terminal end is provided with an opening 58 foraccommodating the hose coupling 14 as it is inserted into the outer endof the arm 8 inwardly of the terminal portion thereof which snuglyreceives the hose 6.

It will be noted that this swing arm assembly may be readily serviced inthe field and the hose swivel 16 may be easily replaced upon failuresimply by removal of one of the cover panels 5 and loosening of screw 52to drop the baflle 50 a distance suflicient to gain access to the swivelconnections. The hose 6 may also be replaced by following the sameprocedure and add ti na y ing the clamp 22.

'2. A liquid-dispensing' device comprising a casing having a top openingdisposed at one side thereof, a swing arm comprising a hollow journalportion, a vertically disposed bearing sleeve support mounted on saidcasing and aligned with said top opening, said sleeve telescopinglyreceiving said journal portion to provide for rotation of the swing amabout a vertical axis, said swing arm further comprising an elbowportion and a projecting radial portion disposed in spaced overlyingrelation to the top of said casing and terminatingadjacent the side ofsaid casing opposite said one side, a flexible delivery hose, the innerend portion of which is supported by the radial portion of said arm forrotation therewith and extends through said hollow journal portioninteriorly of said casing, a rigid liquid outlet pipe terminating withinsaid casing and aligned with said hollow journal portion and a swivelrotatably coupling the inner end terminus of said hose to said outerpipe independently of-said swing arm support, said swivel beingrotatable coaxially with the axis of rotation of said swing arm and,means for yieldingly maintaining the radial portion of said armcentrally disposed with respect to the top of said casing.

3. A liquid dispensing device as in claim 2 wherein a horizontal plateis disposed interiorly of the casing and spaced from the top thereof forsupporting light fixtures and 'the like, said plate having an aperturegenerally aligned with the top openingof the casing and wherein atubular baffie member is secured to the lower end of the journal portionof said swing arm and extends through the aperture of said plate toshroud the terminal end of said flexible hose and said swivel so thatliquid will be directed below the level of said plate in the event theinner end portion of the hose should rupture or the swivel should fail.a

4. A liquid dispensing device as in claim 2 wherein the yieldable meanscomprises a flexible cable encircling the lower end of the journalportion of said arm, means for clamping said cable against said journalportion on opposite sides thereof, said cable having legs of equallength extending from said clamping means, and a tension springconnected at one end to the outer ends of said cable legs and at itsother end to a fixed point relative to said casing. v

5. A liquid dispensing device comprising a casing having a top'openingdisposed at one side thereof, an integrally formedv tubular swing armcomprising a journal portion at one end thereof, a vertically disposedbearing sleeve mounted on said casing and aligned with said top opening,said sleeve telescopically receiving said journal portion to provide forrotation of the swing arm about a vertical axis, said swing arm furthercomprising an elbow portion and a projecting radial portion disposed inspaced overlying relation to the top of said casing and terminatingadjacent the side of said casing oppo i e s q-p e d a. flexible deliverhose, the inner end portion of which extends through the radial portionof said tubular swing arm, around the elbow portion thereof and throughand beyond the journal portion of said arm and terminates in spacedrelation to said journal interiorly of said casing, a rigid outlet pipeterminating within said casing below and aligned with said hollowjournal portion, a swivel rotatably coupling the inner end of said hoseto said outlet pipe separately from the journal portion of said arm,said swivel being rotatable coaxially with the axis of rotation of saidswing arm and means for clamping said flexible hose relative to theouter terminal end of the radial portion of said swing arm to preventstresses from being imposed on the inner end portion of said hose whenthe outer portion is deployed to deliver liquid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,507,260 Snow Sept. 2, 1924 1,756,094 McGuirk Apr. 29, 1930 2,518,443Bagnard Aug. 15, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 752,730 Great Britain July 11,1956

